In Photos: Tiny Homes

Md. Couple to Retire in Tiny Home

Greg Cantori and his wife, Renee, of Pasadena, Md., are retiring in a 238-square-foot house on wheels they bought for $19,000. Cantori became used to living in small spaces as a 19-year-old living aboard a sailboat and then spent his honeymoon with Renee living aboard a 30-foot sailboat in the Virgin Islands for three weeks. "We know what it's like to live small and simple," he said.

Courtesy Greg Cantori

Md. Couple to Retire in Tiny Home

Greg Cantori and his wife, Renee, of Pasadena, Md., are retiring in a 238-square-foot house on wheels they bought for $19,000. Cantori became used to living in small spaces as a 19-year-old living aboard a sailboat and then spent his honeymoon with Renee living aboard a 30-foot sailboat in the Virgin Islands for three weeks. "We know what it's like to live small and simple," he said.

Courtesy Greg Cantori

Couple Plan Retirement In Tiny Home.

Greg Cantori and his wife, Renee, plan to retire in their 238-square-foot house, currently in Pasadena, Md.

Courtesy Greg Cantori

Is This the World's Smallest Home?

A tiny, 65-square-foot home built by volunteers for the Toledo Museum of Art's 'Small Worlds' exhibition was auctioned on eBay through April 7, 2012. With a kitchenette and a room with a built-in desk area, the home can fit a queen mattress. Bidding started at $999 on March 8 and brought in over $29,000. Proceeds benefited early childhood programming at the museum.

Andrew Weber

Downsizing: Minimalist Homes

Felice Cohen, a writer and professional organizer, reads in her rented "microstudio" on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She pays about $1000 a month for a 12' x 7.5' "microstudio."

Courtesy faircompanies.com

Downsizing: Minimalist Homes

Felice Cohen's mini apartment has a bathroom but no kitchen.

Courtesy Felice Cohen

Minimalist Homes

Derek, author of "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks" and his brother, Dustin, in a cabin they built in Vermont. The cabin's main room is 10' by 10'.

Bruce Bettis

Minimalist Homes

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, started by Jay Shafer, sells this 117 square feet home, called The Lusby, for $49,997. Or you can build it yourself for $21,250. Shafer's private residence, in Sebastopol, Calif., is 89 square feet.

Jack Journey

Minimalist Homes

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company sells "The Fencl," which is 130 square feet, for $53,997 or $23,000 if you build it yourself. It measures 8'x19' with a ceiling height of 6' 3,' and has an interior made of pine and stainless steel counters, with an exterior of cedar.

Jack Journey

Minimalist Homes

Jay Shafer built this 89-square foot home in Graton, Calif. and lived in it until his son was born. Photo courtesy of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.

Jack Journey

Minimalist Homes

Bear Creek Carpentry, in Woodgate, NY., built this camping cabin next to the owner's primary residence in Old Forge, NY. His complete cottages can range from $13,440 for "The Hermit" to $50,400 for "The Lodge" complete with a kitchen and bathroom. Rockhill said more of his customers are requesting homes as primary residences instead of vacation homes.

William Rockhill

Minimalist Homes

William Rockhill of Bear Creek Carpentry built this home for his friends, Sara and Jim Cotter, pictured with him, in Woodgate, NY.

William Rockhill

Minimalist Homes

Rich Daniels of Rich's Portable Cabins custom-built this primary residence for a client in Northern Calif. who is sensitive to certain chemical and building materials. He used wool insulation instead of standard fiber glass.

Rich Daniels

Minimalist Homes

Rich Daniels built this cabin in three months. Nancy and Roy Omachi bought five of Daniels' cabins for their Huntington Lake Resort in Lakeshore, Calif. within the Sierra National Forest. For the resort staff, this cabin fits four to six people and includes a bedroom, loft with three beds, kitchen, living room, deck, bathroom and fireplace.

Nancy Omachi

Minimalist Homes

Rich Daniels is building a community of mini-cabins in the town of North Powder in northeastern Oregon. He has dug ground for two ponds, and hopes to build a community center and small farm. The development, which will allow families of modest means to own a home, is tentatively named "Heritage RV Park."